Previously rejected by Perikatan, LDP now confident of joining GRS alliance

SANDAKAN – The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), whose application to join Perikatan Nasional (PN) was rejected by the national coalition last year, is now expressing confidence that it will be accepted into Sabah’s ruling alliance, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS).  

Its president Datuk Chin Su Phin said that in addition to GRS leaders being positive about the matter, alliance chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has promised him that LDP would be accepted.  

Hajiji, incidentally, is also chairman of Sabah PN and the state chief of its main component, Bersatu.

“We are very positive. It is just a matter of time now,” Chin said.  

LDP had quit the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition after the general election in May 2018. Its leaders made the move as BN had been rejected by voters, having been defeated such that it lost power over Putrajaya. 

In that election, LDP itself had lost all five seats it contested under BN, comprising the Sandakan parliamentary seat and four state seats in Sabah.

Then in September 2020, LDP contested the Sabah election as an independent party but lost all seats.  

Chin said that LDP wants to join GRS not because it desires to contest any seats in the coming general election, nor is the party targeting any sort of position in the government.  

He said the party stands firmly behind its principle that the local parties in Sabah must unite under GRS to have a louder voice, just like Gabungan Parti Sarawak in Sarawak.  

“Today we see that the people of Sarawak are very united because their premier can make decisions.

“So I hope that Sabahans will realise that we need to be united in a local coalition, GRS, in the next general election to be able to make changes.  

“If Sabah can be united, I think we might even have the power to decide who becomes the prime minister,” he said in a press conference in the Sandakan LDP office here yesterday.  

Chin said that it is time Sabah stopped “begging” Putrajaya. He added that it would be best if Sabah and Sarawak can become partners to form a Borneo alliance.  

“I think our Sabahans don’t have the right to keep blaming the government if we fail to do the simplest thing – to be united.  

“If Sabahans are not united, especially the local Chinese who are loyal to DAP, then I doubt that there will be any changes for Sabah in the future,” he said.  

LDP currently has 26 divisions with about 36,000 members in Sabah.  

On May 9, after accepting Sabah-based party United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) into GRS, Hajiji said that GRS had also received applications from LDP, Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat and Parti Cinta Sabah.  

However, Hajiji said that GRS needed more time to interact and increase cooperation with these three parties before it can make a decision.  

Before the 14th general election, LDP was seen as the “MCA of Sabah” for championing Chinese-majority seats under BN.

Coincidently, GRS – now comprising Sabah Bersatu, Parti Bersatu Sabah, Sabah STAR, Sabah Progressive Party, and Usno – is still missing a “Chinese” party in its coalition. – The Vibes, June 13, 2022